The cardiovascular system in the pre-Hippocratic era

Although Hippocrates has been traditionally recognized as the father of medicine and one of the major early writers regarding the cardiovascular system, very little is known of about the knowledge of the cardiovascular system in the pre-Hippocratic period. We reviewed the literature and examined available references regarding the cardiovascular system in the pre-Hippocratic era of the Chinese, Indians, Egyptians, and Ancient Greeks including Asclepios, Alcmaeon, Empedocles and Diogenes. All pre-Hippocratic civilizations attributed the illnesses and the structures of the human body to divine powers. Pre-Hippocratic medicine was largely based on religious beliefs and not in scientific observations. Interestingly, despite these erroneous methods, the pre-Hippocratics were able to identify pipes carrying air into the body and name the air carriers (arteries). Unfortunately, the arteries were not associated with blood but rather with air, however, this ancient word still remains in use in our days. This paper reviews the evolution of thinking and discovery regarding the different aspects of the cardiovascular system in the pre-Hippocratic era.